Tag: H-531

Reports from several sources indicate that a firefighting helicopter struck a wire while working on the Cabin Fire in southern California Friday afternoon. The tail number visible on news reports shows that it was N15HX, Helicopter 531, which is a Bell Super 205 equipped with a belly tank and snorkel, supplied to the Angeles National Forest under a contract with Helicopter Express of Atlanta, Georgia.

All indications so far are that the helicopter made a successful landing near a reservoir.

File photo of Helicopter 531 and the four crews that staff the aircraft. USFS photo.

The Cabin Fire started at about 1 p.m. PT on August 14 eight miles north of Azusa, California in the Angeles National Forest. It had burned 800 acres by 5:30 p.m., according to the Forest Service.

Helicopter 531 is the only night-flying helicopter used by the U.S. Forest Service. In 2014 when it began the night flying contract, it was staffed 24 hours a day, using five helitack personnel on each 12-hour shift, changing at 0600 and 1800. There were four 5-person shifts of firefighters, A, B, C, and D, in order to have coverage on days off — a total of 20 firefighters for the helicopter operation, plus pilots.

The helicopter was flown in 2014 by one pilot during the day, but added a co-pilot at night. It was scheduled to respond to fires with a Captain and two other helitack crewpersons on board while two more traveled by ground vehicle.

The helicopter and the air attack ship worked out of Fox Field in Lancaster, California in 2014.

Night flying helicopter 531 dropping on the Mesa Fire in Cajon Pass, November 8, 2014. Photo by San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Night flying helicopter dropping on the Mesa Fire in Cajon Pass, November 8, 2014. Photo by San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Firefighters on the ground and in the air routinely put out fires when they are small, but only the large fires that threaten private property get the extensive news coverage. The Mesa Fire was knocked down Saturday at about 7 p.m. after burning two acres in Cajon Pass in southern California near Interstate 15. Helicopter 531, Air Attack 51, and firefighters on the ground made the stop.

(Originally published June 4, 2013; revised June 5 to add more details about the staffing of the helicopter and the status of the ownership of the air attack ship.)

The U.S. Forest Service has not had a helicopter with night flying capabilities since around 1980 — until recently. Now there is a night flying ship based on the Angeles National Forest in southern California, designated Helicopter 531.

File photo, Aero Commander 690A

Three to four night flying helicopters from Los Angeles County and Los Angeles City have been used for the last four nights on the Powerhouse Fire north of Los Angeles. They were coordinated by personnel in another new addition to the USFS’s fleet, a fixed wing air attack ship orbiting overhead in the darkness. It is a Turbo Commander 690, much like the one in the photo. The air attack ship is not USFS owned as reported by the agency, but it is leased on a call when needed contract. It is equipped with technology to support ground and air firefighting operations at night, including an infrared camera and command and control avionics equipment.

The long term goal of the USFS is to retrofit an old agency-owned piston engine Shrike 500 Commander to take the place of the contractor supplied aircraft.

A “Helicopter Express” Bell 205A++

Helicopter 531 is a Bell Super 205 equipped with a belly tank and snorkel, supplied under a contract with Helicopter Express of Atlanta, Georgia. The company’s web site says they operate 22 helicopters. During the day to fill its tank it will typically draft water from a water source while hovering. But at night, for safety purposes, it will only refill by landing and filling from a hose staffed by firefighters.

Yes, according to information we received from U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Stanton Florea and someone else closely associated with the operation, the helicopter will be staffed 24 hours a day, using five personnel on each 12-hour shift, changing at 0600 and 1800. There are four 5-person shifts of firefighters, A, B, C, and D, in order to have coverage on days off — a total of 20 firefighters for the helicopter operation, plus pilots.

The helicopter will be flown by one pilot during the day, but will add a co-pilot at night. It will respond to fires with a Captain and two other helitack crewpersons on board while two more travel by ground vehicle.

The helicopter and the air attack ship will work out of Fox Field in Lancaster, California. They can be used on initial attack during the day and night in the southern part of the Los Padres National Forest, and all of the Angeles, San Bernardino, and Cleveland National Forests.

In a news release, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell was quoted as saying:

The re-introduction of Forest Service night helicopter firefighting operations in Southern California further establishes the agency’s commitment to protect lives and property in the region. Night flying operations will provide an aggressive agency initial attack while better ensuring public safety, minimizing overall fire costs and lessening impacts to communities.

Both the Turbo Commander and Helicopter 531 began their contract June 1. While the fixed wing has been in use since then, the helicopter and pilots have been going through training and obtaining certifications and the module is expected to be available at the end of the day on June 5.

After the Station fire several politicians became involved in the controversy and pressured the USFS to restore the capability to use helicopters at night to drop water. The agency later said they would study the concept, again, and three years after the disastrous fire they announced on August 16, 2012 that they would get back into night flying on a very limited basis with a single helicopter in 2013.